Council members spent a substantial portion of Dec. 2’s committee meeting on planning and zoning items across several districts, including contested rezoning proposals and technical ordinance language.

At 915 Barton Avenue, staff recommended the CNT (neighborhood transition) zone instead of CN (neighborhood commercial) because residential properties sit across the street; planning recommended CN with conditions limiting hours, uses and requiring the existing structure be retained to preserve neighborhood form. Councilmembers asked for the exact condition language and raised concerns about precluding restaurant use in the future.

A Mercer Street proposal to rezone RN16/IH to RN13 for single‑unit detached homes drew discussion of lot sizes, setbacks and community historic character; staff recommended caution and several council members signaled they expect a short deferral while developers revise plans to accommodate neighborhood concerns about building height and massing.

On Shallowford Road, an applicant asked to rezone properties to industrial (IL/IH) for warehouse and lay‑down yard uses. Staff noted much of the parcels are in flood‑plain/floodway areas and recommended limiting industrial exposure to non-structural lay‑down yard uses and applying buffering conditions; council members requested clearer information about truck access and operations before deciding.

At Bonny Oaks Drive, a landscaping supply/storage applicant proposed industrial zoning with conditions limiting permitted materials and operations hours; councilmembers asked for more detail about noise, truck activity and impacts on adjacent senior housing and schools and signaled possible deferral for additional applicant clarifications.

Separately, staff proposed ordinance updates to add definitions and standards for indoor reception facilities (to prohibit outdoor amplified sound and outdoor gathering areas), to define and regulate stand‑alone drive‑through facilities, and to allow parking reductions for units under 800 square feet in specified form‑based code areas to incentivize smaller units. Staff asked for additional time to refine language; council requested more one‑on‑one briefings on the parking item to avoid unintended consequences in form‑based zones.

What happens next: Several items were deferred for refinement or additional staff/applicant follow‑up and will return on future agendas; planning commission notifications for upcoming items were distributed for Dec. 8.